Hartford Business Journal, November 16, 2015, by JOHNSTEARNS​Trail projects in Plainville, Southington, Farmington, Cheshire, Bloomfield and a handful of other communities are among those expected to be completed under Connecticut's five-year transportation ramp-up plan unveiled earlier this year, which aims to make biking and pedestrian walkways a more prominent part of the state's transportation strategy.

The $10 billion ramp-up plan, which is part of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's more ambitious 30-year, $100-billion transportation overhaul, includes $101 million for maintaining trails, completing gaps in the state's trail network and completing urban bike/pedestrian connectivity projects. For the following 25 years, $250 million is earmarked for pedestrian and bicycle improvements including construction of a trail along Route 15 (Merritt Parkway) and $30 million for trail maintenance.

Tom Maziarz, bureau chief for the Connecticut Department of Transportation's Bureau of Policy and Planning, said Malloy's transportation plan — called Let's Go CT! — is based on a new state strategy that aims to achieve more than simply reducing accidents or congestion.

Economic growth and "preserving, Connecticut's quality of life, particularly in terms of helping make our communities more livable and sustainable," are two other main focuses, he said.

"If one of our goals is to support revitalization of our community centers and make them more desirable to live and work … how do you attract and retain young talent?" Maziarz said. Making community centers more livable and connected is part of that, he said, including expanding bike, pedestrian and other transit options.

"To get those young, talented professionals to stay in Connecticut … they're not looking for a three-bedroom ranch or colonial out in the suburbs, especially early in their careers," Maziarz said. "They're looking for something in an urban center where they have a lot of mobility options and choices where they can walk to dinner, walk to a train station or a bus station. They want the availability of transit so that they don't have to rely as much on a car."

The bike/pedestrian connectivity and expansion plan could also include better connection of transit and work centers to pedestrian and bicycle trails and neighborhoods. DOT is still defining how money for these projects will be spent. It has not yet been determined, however, how Malloy's Let's Go CT! initiative will be fully funded, although lawmakers have approved $2.8 billion in bonds for the plan's first five years.

For the first year, without a predefined selection process, DOT sought bike/pedestrian connectivity projects that are ready to go or that it could undertake quickly, Maziarz said. They include design for bike and pedestrian trail connections to the William H. Putnam Memorial Bridge walkway from Wethersfield and Glastonbury and one of two projects in New Haven, either a commuter corridor to improve bike and pedestrian connections between downtown and residential areas west of downtown, or a protected bike track to allow bicyclists a safe route for traversing the Tomlinson Lift Bridge and continuing east and south along the east shore connecting several parks, according to a DOT document.​DOT also is making bike/pedestrian connectivity funds available for its road safety audit program to help 20 or 30 communities a year audit bicycle and pedestrian issues on local roads where improvements can be made.

Projects that are identified will focus on how to get bicyclists safely into community centers and, once there, ensuring good walking and on-road biking conditions, Maziarz said.

Kelly Kennedy, executive director of Bike Walk Connecticut, a nonprofit working to make Connecticut a better place to bike and walk, sees progress in the state allocating funding for bike and pedestrian uses in its long-term plan.

"Having a line item and signaling that bike/pedestrian active transportation is a real, serious component of our transportation plan is success; having dedicated funding for that is a success, too," Kennedy said.

But the devil's in the details, she added.

"What's the business case for how we're going to apply that money?" she said. "How do we make sure that the projects that get funded are the most useful projects?" That includes relieving vehicle miles traveled and congestion, and connecting places people want to go, she said. There should be connectivity between towns, too, not just within towns, and connections between complete streets and trails.

DOT last year adopted a complete streets policy. Its website defines complete streets as safe, comfortable and convenient transportation systems that serve everyone, whether they travel by walking, bicycling, riding transit or driving.

"Getting it on paper is great; seeing it applied in the real world is another challenge," Kennedy said, adding that her organization sees instances where complete streets aren't being integrated. "We need to stop designing roads just for cars."

Added Kennedy, "I think we need to think of active transportation in terms of Connecticut's overall economic competitiveness and we're behind. There are many states that are much farther ahead than we are on being bike-friendly and walk-friendly. That's where the knowledge workers want to go, and that's where Millennials want to go. The longer it takes for us to catch up, the longer it's going to take for us to restore some prosperity to Connecticut. We need to consider this as an economic competitiveness factor."

Connecticut's "vulnerable user" law, which took effect this month, most likely won't solve all the problems associated with the various uses of public streets and highways. But it's a good start, especially if it opens the door to a discussion of how we can be more respectful of one another's presence on the roads.The law imposes a $1,000 fine on motorists who, in failing to "exercise reasonable care," injure or kill a so-called "vulnerable user of a public way." Those users include pedestrians, bicyclists, highway workers, people on horseback, those in wheelchairs, skateboarders, roller skaters and the drivers of farm tractors.Read the full editorial at http://www.courant.com/opinion/editorials/hc-ed-vulnerable-users-law-respects-all-who-use-ro-20141014-story.html

Ray Rauth is a member of Bike Walk Connecticut which championed the new law aimed at careless drivers. —Patricia Gay photo

By Patricia Gay on October 9, 2014 pedestrians or cyclists.The Vulnerable User law, Public Act 14-31, went into effect on Oct. 1 and requires a fine to be imposed on reckless motor vehicle drivers who cause the death or serious injury of a pedestrian, cyclist, wheelchair user, or other “vulnerable users” who were using reasonable care. The fine is capped at $1,000.The law was advocated for by Bike Walk Connecticut, a statewide nonprofit group whose goal is to make Connecticut a better state for bicycling and walking.“The new law will achieve its purpose if it raises awareness of roadway safety,” said Ray Rauth, Bike Walk member, chairman of Weston’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee, and member of the state Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board.READ the full story by Patricia Gay.

A new Connecticut law holds accountable careless drivers who injure or kill pedestrians or cyclists, a law created after a New Canaan teen’s car struck and killed a jogger in Norwalk.The Vulnerable User Law, Public Act 14-31, went into effect on Oct. 1 and requires a fine to be imposed on careless motor vehicle drivers who cause the death or serious injury of a pedestrian, cyclist, wheelchair user, or other “vulnerable users” who were using reasonable care. The fine is capped at $1,000.The law was advocated for by Bike Walk Connecticut, a statewide nonprofit group whose goal is to make Connecticut a better state for bicycling and walking.READ the full story.

BY DANIELA BRIGHENTI, CONTRIBUTING REPORTER, Thursday, October 9, 2014A new law seeking to protect cyclists and pedestrians from reckless drivers took effect in Connecticut last week.The Vulnerable User Law, which introduces tougher penalties for serious traffic accidents between drivers and pedestrians, attempts to diminish the number of pedestrians and cyclists killed or injured on the state’s roads. Between 2006 and 2012, there were 10,000 such injuries and deaths.The law, which was passed this May, is “very simple,” according to State Representative Roland Lamar. The law introduces a one thousand dollar fine to individuals in motorized vehicles who, in acting with improper care and caution, injure or kill a vulnerable user — in other words, pedestrians, highway workers, cyclists, skateboarders and those in wheelchairs, among others.READ the full story.

A new Connecticut law holds accountable careless drivers who injure or kill pedestrians or cyclists.The Vulnerable User law, Public Act 14-31, went into effect on Oct. 1 and requires a fine to be imposed on reckless motor vehicle drivers who cause the death or serious injury of a pedestrian, cyclist, wheelchair user, or other “vulnerable users” who were using reasonable care. The fine is capped at $1,000.The law was advocated for by Bike Walk Connecticut, a statewide nonprofit group whose goal is to make Connecticut a better state for bicycling and walking.“The new law will achieve its purpose if it raises awareness of roadway safety,” said Ray Rauth, Bike Walk member, chairman of Weston’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee, and member of the state Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board.READ the full story.

Bike Walk Connecticut released its first annual scorecard ranking each town in the state.

As part of a 5-year plan to track the progression of Connecticut’s “complete streets” initiative, Bike Walk Connecticut recently released a ranking of each town based on how bike and pedestrian friendly they are.

The rankings were compiled using online surveys of how bike and pedestrian friendly local residents think their towns are; municipal leadership and engagement efforts, including the creation of local bicycle and pedestrian master plans; whether local task forces or advisory groups have been established; whether a “complete streets” policy has been enacted; and related public outreach efforts.

“The surveys and scorecard are expected to be conducted annually as part of Bike Walk Connecticut's new 5-year initiative to make it safer and easier to walk and bike by implementing ‘complete streets’ in cities and towns across Connecticut,” the organization said in the data release.

Out of 169 Connecticut municipalities, Wilton has been ranked the 101st walk- and bike-friendly municipality in the state, according to the results of Bike Walk Connecticut’s first-ever statewide bike- and walk-friendly survey.Based on Bike Walk Connecticut’s survey results, the five most bike- and walk-friendly communities in Connecticut are: Simsbury, New Haven, New Britain, Glastonbury and Middletown.Bike Walk Connecticut’s survey launched in May and was publicly made available to anyone who works and lives in Connecticut. The not-for-profit organization reported that approximately 2,200 people completed either a bikability survey, walkability survey or both.Read the full article in the Wilton Bulletin here.